Variegates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To give something a varied appearance by adding different colors or patches
2. To cause an object or surface to show a pattern of contrasting colors or marks
3. To produce a multicolored effect by mixing or spreading different shades

Etymology: The verb "variegate" is built from two Latin parts: "varius", meaning "various" or "diverse", and "agere", "to make or do". Late Latin combined them into "variegare", "to make of various sorts or colors", so the word's core idea is literally "to make varied." English took it over as "variegate", and the word has kept that sense of deliberately producing variety on a surface. The "varius" half carries a surprise of its own: in Latin it did not only mean "varied" in a neutral sense but could describe things that were shifting or changeable, which is why the same root later gave English words for variety of color and pattern. The "agere" half is the same verb behind "agent" and "action", so "variegate" is quietly a "make" verb wearing a painter's clothes.

Synonyms: diversifies, varies, multicolors, differentiates, assorts

Antonyms: uniforms, standardizes, simplifies, homogenizes, regularizes